Thestrals
by Mairalynn
Summary: Maybe they seek solace in each other.


During their first lesson on Thestrals, Theodore Nott remembers why he can see them. His mother had died, the summer after first year. It was some altercation with the recent surgery she had just had. Because in an effort to look the way she wanted, she went to a muggle plastic surgeon and got molded into her perfect self. What she didn't expect was for her magic to respond to the procedure. Because the magic wasn't evenly distributed as well, so it reacted, and blew up the room when she was resting after the procedure. He was in the room, and so was his brother. His mother had died that day, and his brother had been produced permanently blind. Their father had stumbled into a deep depression, not even getting up to make himself meals. Due to that Theo had to take over for the household. He had made sure that his father got meals every five hours, and that his brother got the care he needed. His brother had just graduated from Hogwarts that year, but Theo still had to make sure that his dad got fed and got taken care of. Their family had never had excessive money like the Malfoys or the Zabini's, but Theo figured out a way to hire someone to take care of his brother and his dad. His sister, who was starting Hogwarts this year, didn't witness it, and as far as she knew, her mother had died in her sleep.

Theo was reluctant to have a turn at impressing the thestral. He didn't want those memories coming back. Although, they were starting to creep into his mind anyways. He sighed, and caught a look that the golden girl of Gryffindor was sending him. He raised an eyebrow at her and she quickly turned away, a pink tint to her cheeks. She looks rather cute when she blushes. He really shouldn't think of her that way. But he couldn't help it. Besides, it was just a small attraction to the girl. The object of his thoughts turned and met his eyes. Her eyes practically screamed curiosity and Theo chuckled to himself and raised an eyebrow. She mimicked him and turned back to her conversation with Potter. Theo smiled the brightest he had had in months.

A few months later, after he had refused to join the inquisitorial squad that Dumbridge was making, and being punished, laughed at, jinxed, cursed, and yelled at, he met her again. Hermione Granger. They met in the Room of Requirement, somehow. He had simply been seeking solace, and he knew that this was here. He had been sleeping here every night. He couldn't go back to his dorms otherwise he would be cursed. She, just so happened to be looking for solace as well. Of course, she happened to walk in on him changing, and caught him without a shirt. Miss Hermione Granger walked in, sobbing her eyes out, and as soon as she saw him she nearly screamed. Of course, she couldn't help admiring the view in front of her either. Theodore Nott was built. And not Draco Malfoy type of built. He was the complete image of male perfection. _Oh. My. God._ She was too busy staring at his chest that she failed to notice the amused look the boy was sending her way.

"Granger?" Receiving no response, Theo tried something else. "Hermione?" Nope. No response. He took a step towards her. No response. And he continued taking steps towards her until he was right in front of her with no response. He gently placed a hand on her face. She jolted out of her trance, suddenly realizing that the body she was mesmerized with was gone. The strange thing was that she didn't move away from him after she 'woke up'. If anything, she moved her head into his hand. He was slightly reminded of a kitten. Hermione just stared up at him with curious and confused eyes.

"Hermione? What happened?" He heard himself ask. And he suddenly had no control over his mouth anymore.

"I don't…." She heaved a heavy sigh, and Theo almost moaned at the feeling of her breath against his palm. "Ron is being a git, and Harry always sides with him. And harry is dealing with things and not letting me help him…. And things just suck at the moment." Theo took his thumb, and let his instincts take over. He wiped the tears gently from her face as she nuzzled his hand. He felt, bad, for some reason. "What are you doing here?" She asked him, her voice slightly muffled by his palm.

"I come here every night. My house mates like to jinx, hex, and curse me. Especially now that I'm sleeping. All because I wouldn't join some stupid equestrian squad or something." Hermione giggled and turned her head back towards his face.

"So you're here every night?" And Hermione had a plan.

"Yeah….." Theo was seriously confused.

"Would you mind having some company? I'm not exactly favored by my housemates either. To them, I'm the insufferable know it all who is The Harry Potter's best friend." And so Hermione's plan was sown. They each slept there every night. Each returning early enough in the morning to their commons as to not be suspected. Nothing went on, except for the casual talk about anything, and then they went to sleep, in different beds. But on the fifth night there, she had a nightmare. And this was the first one she had had in a long time. And it was bad. And after her nightmares, she always needs something to tie her to reality. Or someone.

 _Flashback_

 _Hermione woke up from a nightmare. The first one that she had had in a long time. And she wasn't like Harry. She didn't make noises out loud when she had nightmares. But she did always wake up stock still, and needing something to tie her to reality. It was an odd feeling, not feeling tied to what was happening then and now. She normally found Crooks or woke up Lavender, who was more than glad to have someone to talk to about anything. But Hermione had neither of those options. But she did have a new option. She looked to the other side of the room, where she saw Theo laying on his side, fast asleep. She didn't want to bother him, but she also didn't fancy being awake for seven hours until six am. She sighed and got up from her bed. She was hesitant to do this, but she needed some sort of contact with a living breathing thing. She got to the edge of his bed and looked down at him sleeping. He was rather cute when he slept. He slept in only a pair of sweatpants, although Hermione was sure that he only wore those because he didn't want to freak her out. His hair was messed up, and there was no normal expression of worry on his face. She sighed, and resigned herself to her fate._

 _She reached out and shook his arm. "Theo?" she whispered. She got a "Hm" out of him and decided to go on. "I had a nightmare." he opened one eye. At Hermione's look, he sighed and held open the blanket for her to get in. She stood, gaping, for a moment before shrugging and climbing into the bed. His was much softer than hers, she noticed. As soon as she lay down next to him, he closed the blanket over them, his hand barely grazing her butt. She tensed for a moment, then relaxed and closed her eyes. She was briefly aware of Theo doing the same. And she layed there for a minute. But her mind was going back and back through the nightmare. So she turned on her side so that she faced him. She whispered, again, "Theo?" And in response he opened one eye again, and seeing Hermione about to say something else, most likely about going back to her own bed, he gripped her waist and pulled her close to him, while draping an arm across her waist. And everything from her mind, completely flew out of the window. Normally the thoughts would just go to the back of her mind until another time, but Theo made them completely go away. Hermione draped one arm over Theo's side, and rested her head closer to his. She fell back asleep into the best sleep she had ever had in her life. And she woke up refreshed for the first time since she came to Hogwarts._

 _The next night, she tried sleeping in her bed, and woke up at one am. Knowing she wouldn't be able to go back asleep again, she crept over to his bed and whispered his name. Without even looking, he opened up the blankets. And so this formed a routine, until one night when before he went to bed he told her, "if you're going to keep ending up waking up with me, you might as well fall asleep with me too." And although the wording was weird, and he was the most quirky and odd person she had ever met, her bed went completely unused, so they decided to just get rid of it._

And so, they quickly developed a friendship, and Hermione discovered that she was in love the Theodore Nott. But they were just friends, right? Hermione sighed and continued taking her transfiguration notes. But a few nights later, something was different.

 _A few nights later_

 _Hermione returned to their room, and started to change, almost getting her shirt all the way off, when she heard a book drop to the floor. Of course this was the one time she forgot to check to make sure he wasn't here. She quickly put her shirt all the way back on and looked over to Theo, whose blue eyes were now a midnight blue, coincidentally Hermione's favorite color. He got up, stalked over to her, and whispered to himself. "God damn it all." Then a bit louder, his voice a bit huskier than normal, he whispered to her "I'm sorry." Then, he took her face in his hand, much like the first day, placed a hand on her hip, and kissed her. She wound her arms around his neck, and they let their instincts take over again. Because the two bookworms could be themselves around the other, and didn't have to worry about judgement._

They became an official couple after that. And they both continued to sleep in 'their' room. And when Hermione never showed up the night of the DoM battle, he went searching and learned that she had risked her life that night. And she had barely said goodbye to him. But she was alive, although if that nasty cut had it's way, then she wouldn't be alive for much- wait a second. He knew that spell! Hell, he had given the idea for the spell! He looked up, looked at madame Pomfrey, who was trying to find out what spell was used, and said "I know how to heal it." And so they began a surgery that reminded him of his mother's'. Although this was to save his girlfriend's life. But this was an ugly and long cut, so a lot of skin and muscle tissue was affected. The curse was supposed to completely drain a person of their magical core, starting with the infected area, and then kill the infected. In order to treat it, he had to cut the infected part out of the bod, making sure not to hit any veins or arteries, then successfully treat the infected part and replace the skin missing from the procedure. But it could only be done the muggle way or else it would kill her faster, so Theo had to do a lot of work. In the end, he spent most of the time she was recovering with her.

They parted ways with a small kiss at the train station, as she had to run off to her parents. But they still got to spend time with each other. Around halfway through summer, when he had some free time, because his parents were beginning their 'special lessons', she had invited him to a muggle cinema, and Theo had no clue what it was about, because they were in the back of the cinema snogging. And Hermione invited him to meet her parents, and her parents ended up liking him. And on her birthday that year, after having asked her parents for permission, he asked her to marry him. A year later Hermione Granger became Hermione Nott, and, as they say, the rest is history.


End file.
